She jumped off the balance beam and sprained both ankles before attempting to do a flip. The injured ankles, however, limited her power to leap and she fell on her head, her father said.

The doctor said the neck ligaments were compromised, and it will take a few months for them to repair themselves, Jay Ciokajlo wrote. Caitlyn Ciokajlo, 20, will have to wear a neck brace for up to three months.

She is expected to leave the hospital by Thursday or Friday.

Her ankles are quite swollen from the sprains, but she is ready to walk, and will do it, her father reported.

“Knowing her, she will be back in class next week,” he wrote.

A Scholarship Academic All-American award winner for two consecutive seasons, she has been accepted to and went through orientation at Life University in Marietta, Ga. As long as she completes her final year at the University of Kentucky, she will attend Life’s chiropractic school starting in September 2013, Jay Ciokajlo wrote.

When asked about whether she will be able to continue training, Jay Ciokajlo declined to address it.

“We are not discussing a return to the gym at this time,” he wrote. “We and she feel it is most appropriate to get the normal parts of day-to-day life back first and foremost.”

The Wildcats’ season begins in early January. Ciokajlo is the team’s lone senior, according to an Aug. 15 statement from the athletic department.